Sudden Strike's realistic terrain and soldier and vehicle graphics make it one of the most visually impressive WWII strategy games we've ever seen. The gameplay follows the simple conventions of real-time strategy games like Command & Conquer or StarCraft, except you don't have to harvest resources in Sudden Strike. The problem with the game is that it may be too simple. The point of Sudden Strike is to grab hold of your units (and to the game's credit there is a wide variety of units to control) and fling them at the enemy en masse. This lack of strategic depth isn't a fatal flaw; most strategy games of this stripe usually devolve into that sort of battle. But the unit pathfinding is poor and it gets frustrating watching your own troops get stuck on trees or wander all over the battlefield trying to get to where you want them to go. This weak artificial intelligence is especially evident when you play the single-player game against the computer. It just cannot mount a well-conceived assault to save its silicon life. Yet the maps are attractive and there are about 40 missions to play. Combat gets intense with up to 1,000 units on the field, and things do blow up real good. You can portray the Russians, Germans, Americans, or Polish as well. Variety and generous multiplayer options (up to 12 players), coupled with attractive graphics, might win over strategy players new to the real-time scene, but veterans aren't going to be wowed by this weak graphical blitzkrieg. --Andrew S. Bub Pros: Attractive graphics Simple, straightforward gameplay Cons: Overly simplistic gameplay Bad artificial intelligence